


When You Fall Away, Dream Of Me

by LaVie_EnRose



Series: welp ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Bittersweet, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Neighbors, Short, Still kinda are, adulthood???, and chai too, and then werent, freakin fruit, highschool, lovey, markhyuck, marks super whipped, nct - Freeform, sam kim inspired, soft, stan markhyuck, they were in love, theyre cute, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 01:12:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18272765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaVie_EnRose/pseuds/LaVie_EnRose
Summary: As of this moment they're just neighbors. Donghyuck never says a word to Mark, and just like before he helps the younger collect those fruit of his and when the boy stands with the bag in his hands Mark tries to hand him the last tangerine. Donghyuck turns away from him quite easily. Like they were never in love.





	When You Fall Away, Dream Of Me

They used to be in love. 

 

Mark, seeing Donghyuck there grabbing at tangerines like the moment they first met is a bit pained.

 

Still as beautiful as it was before though. 

 

Back when they were young and completely fallen for each other-the way Donghyuck spoke and moved and  _breathed_ meant everything to Mark. Even now, with the glare he shoots the elder who bends down to help him pick up the fruit he's still so beautiful. 

 

They clicked back then just like this- Mark having moved in to the same building the day before with his family and the next day, coming home and making to put away his bike outside before spotting the younger in his uniform on the ground he went over. Even then Donghyuck hadn't said a word to him. Only made brief eye contact with Mark who sunk to his knees cautiously, taking the white bag gently from the younger to hold open for him and help place the tangerines back in. Having only picked up a few Donghyuck stops after some time and Mark watches him with utter fascination even when the lightest of snow begins to fall and touch his face, kiss his skin. He can't help the way Donghyuck holds him, Donhyuck standing to get a better look at the snow and all Mark does is look at him, really. He can't help how he feels. 

 

After that everything is simple really. 

 

They fall in love. Slow, slow, slowly they do and Mark can remember the weight of Donghyuck's head in his lap the time the younger bugged him to play with his hair, his ears, his face. The sound of Donghyuck's laughter in his own ears making him smile dumbly, telling the younger to be quiet while he brushed at his face and traced all those god crafted features of his with a fuzz ball at the tip of a pen. So many hours they spent together. Falling for one another. He can hear the boys thoughtless humming in his head sometimes when he'd tune Mark's guitar. When he'd run his fingers along the strings, along Mark's own and they'd play. Or Donghyuck would and Mark sat and fell further in love. Donghyuck was all the music he ever needed, the only thing he could wish to hear. Often they would indulge in each other, laying in bed and sleeping. Never sleeping. Lying awake and holding each other warmly under the sheets. Donghyuck always taking the time to watch him, lips gracing his cheeks and eyelids, never bothered by Marks infatuated gaze that would followed. The boys hands that would carefully touch at his hair and his sides, he can feel still feel the heat and he can't help the sigh that escapes him. Regardless of the clutter of Donghyuck's room they spent days upon days there, Mark holding him close in their sleep. The phantom sting in his back from the time Donghyuck shoved him off the bed in the night. 

 

This is now though and now, they _aren't_ in love. 

 

As of this moment they're just neighbors. Donghyuck never says a word to Mark, and just like before he helps the younger collect those fruit of his and when the younger stands with the bag in his hands Mark tries to hand him the last tangerine. Donghyuck turns away from him quite easily. Like they were never in love. 

 

And they aren't anymore and Mark knows this. With his head down he thinks this is how things are and there's no use in hurting over it. Things are as they are for whatever reason, because _things_ happen.  He feels like there's so much more they could know about each other since they're adults. Compared to back then Donghyuck doesn't smile at him like he used to. Even if he did though, he guesses it probably would have changed also. 

 

Mark chooses to go inside, doesn't stare after the younger walking opposite him like he longs to. 

 

He really has tried to move on. The people in his life say he's changed a ton but he doesn't see it. He feels stuck, remembering and reminiscing and not doing that and feeling helpless some days. Unable to go anywhere when he knows Donghyuck is just next door. Like he always has been and that's all good and fine except it isn't. He tries to change but he feels the same as he did back when. In love. Softly so. 

 

 When he moves up the sidewalk towards the door he can still see Donghyuck waving at him from the window in the building beside his, beaming at him and he can still feel the ache in his cheeks from smiling back.

 

Mark buys tangerines later at the market and sits and eats them and thinks and does so for hours, has so many he feels a sick of them. But he could never really be sick of them. 

 

He wonders what Donghyuck's up to. What he's dreaming out about. When he dreams and he falls if he thinks of Mark like he hopes the younger would. He wants to know if he's in love. In _love_ love, somewhere else with someone else. No tears in his eyes, he wants to know if Donghyuck thinks of him too. 

 

Some nights it seemed they'd never run out of love. Some nights when the younger would rest on Mark's shoulder and watch the snow fall outside, fall asleep to the melody of each others breaths and heart beats and drifted together, over cotton candy or pink clouds so so delicately. Mark had told him once after cake for the youngers birthday that snow fell just for him. Because he was a gift. That his existence was a gift and so snow should fall _every_ day. It didn't. Thinking back on seeing him again and watching the snow fall with Donghyuck all those years later he doesn't really know how he feels. When they were younger Mark would write his confessions, any means of words for the younger on his palms, in his hands that Donghyuck would hold and he thinks how silly it was. Wishes he could do so now and have words to say. 

 

If they fell again, if Donghyuck fell Mark would say hello from wherever he was. 

 

It _wouldn't_ matter whether he'd heard it or not. Just quietly enough so that he knew it'd been said. Just loud enough to be said and never reach the younger. Wouldn't even put his name on it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's not so cold that there should be snow but there is. Heading home and never feeling the flakes of ice cling to his clothes in the fashion they do- he doesn't even register it and probably never would have seen that there was ever any snow. Still, he takes a second to appreciate it when it lands at his feet and dragging his bike to put away as he does everyday he stops. Maybe it's a gift. Maybe it's a sign. Maybe it's a thanks for his love, his hello but there's snow and the smallest of color despite the dull gray and green and blues of their building. It's orange. It's not an orange but a tangerine that sits on the ground where he rests his bike everyday and this one is different. 

 

He reaches down to grab at it and when he's turned it over he feels good. 

 

Not in love or nostalgic or cold- happy like the smiley face on the fruit and that's so so good to him. 

 

This is good. 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> there's vagueness on how they break up in the first place so I chose to respect that and leave it be in whatever this is


End file.
